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Another one down...probably

February 23rd, 2018 at 02:45 pm

With my recent PTO payout, I paid a little extra to various debts. However, I'm almost positive I miscalculated and have an extra $423! I'm going to wait until midweek next week to make sure that my mushy brain didn't accidentally not account for something. However, I checked several times and am almost positive that that money is available. (I'm also the person who wore slippers out of the house the other morning. Luckily, I only drove up my street before I realized I wasn't actually wearing shoes.)

With that, I will be paying off the $305 balance on my NFL Points card and putting the remainder into savings.

I also adjusted my direct deposits amounts to send $125 more to our main account each paycheck. I now contribute $2800/mo to our joint expenses. DH's contributions are variable, but at least $2k/mo. Percentage-wise, DH contributes significantly more of his paycheck since he didn't have any debt before we got married other than his car.

Even though we make decent money, I'd always felt like we were drowning. Looking at my forecasts though, this is the first time in a long time that I feel good about where we're headed. *Knock on all the wood...*

One question that has been on my mind, should I reduce all debt payments to the minimum to build our joint account back to living on last month's income before the baby comes? I feel like our budgeting would be smoother if we could get back there, but I'm not sure if the focus should be on that or paying off as much debt as possible to maximize our future disposable income.

5 Responses to “Another one down...probably”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1519402936

    As to your question, I think you have an emergency fund, yes? Living on last month's income is simply another way to say having a month's worth of income in your emergency fund, that you could dip into if you had a month without income. In my mind getting rid of debt and the payments and interest that go with it are probably your priority if you have some sort of emergency fund. Once you get rid fo the debt you can definitely add more to your EF, or in your case build up the account to living on last month's income.

    To help you figure it out...you might also compare what progress you could make before the baby comes with each scenario you are contemplating. Know the extra interest paid if you focus on building up cash reserves.

  2. CB in the City Says:
    1519404550

    Not very long ago I wore slippers out to breakfast. Luckily, they don't look too much like slippers.

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1519436302

    Do you have a buffer for when you are on maternity leave + an EF? I agree paying down the debt is important, but for me I'd have more peace of mind knowing I had the needed funds to pay bills for the extent of my maternity leave.

  4. scottish girl Says:
    1519578107

    I'd build up a buffer. Peace of mind is important.

  5. rob62521 Says:
    1519586005

    As previously said, I would certainly make sure I had an emergency fund first.

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